Chapter 3

By the time I returned to the pack, half the birthday cake was gone.

Ethan was helping Ivy plan her European vacation.

I held out my phone. "Why did you take money from my education fund?"

He barely looked up.

"Ivy wanted better hotel rooms. I borrowed fifteen thousand. I'll pay it back before school starts."

He'd said the same thing in my last life.

Later, Ivy bought a limited-edition designer bag in Europe, and I never saw the money again.

When I asked, Ethan snapped, "What does someone at a second-rate academy need that much money for? Ivy has important events to attend. She can't look cheap."

This time, I held out my hand.

"Return it. Now."

Ethan shut his laptop.

"What's gotten into you, Abigail? We're family. Why are you keeping score?"

"Grandma left that money for my education. You withdrew it without permission. Return it, or I'll report you to the Pack Financial Oversight Council."

Dad slammed his hand on the table.

"You'd drag your own brother before the Council over fifteen thousand dollars? We've spent more than that raising you!"

His Alpha authority pressed against me.

"I'm the Alpha of Blood Moon. Family matters stay within my pack."

"Not when they involve a protected inheritance trust."

The Council operated independently of individual Alphas. Even Dad couldn't overturn its rulings.

And Ethan's Alpha Heir Qualification Review was next year. A finding of financial misconduct could threaten his succession.

I turned to Mom.

Before Grandma died, she'd already seen how differently Mom treated Ivy and me.

She'd taken Mom's hand and made her promise that the education fund would be kept for me.

That no one else would be allowed to touch it.

"You think he had the right to take it too?"

Mom looked away.

"Ivy gets sick easily. She needs comfortable accommodations. You're her older sister, Abby. Make allowances for her."

There it was again.

From age five to eighteen, I'd always been told to give Ivy whatever she wanted.

In my last life, I'd kept giving until I died.

Ivy caught my hand.

"Abby, I'll cancel the upgrades. Ethan can return the money."

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Adrian walked in just then.

Seeing Ivy cry, he shoved me aside.

"Abigail! Are you bullying her again?"

The back of my hand struck the corner of the table.

Pain shot through my fingers, and a red mark spread across my skin.

Adrian didn't notice. He was checking Ivy's wrist.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "Abby's just upset."

He glared at me.

"Ivy always defends you. Stop taking advantage of her kindness."

In my last life, that look made me apologize immediately.

Not anymore.

I played the recording on my phone.

"Ivy wanted better hotel rooms. I borrowed fifteen thousand."

Ethan lunged for my phone.

"Why the hell are you recording me?"

I stepped back.

"If the money isn't back by noon tomorrow, the Council gets this recording and the bank statements."

"You'd risk my Alpha succession over money?"

"Then you shouldn't have taken mine."

Dad pointed at the door.

"Report your brother, and don't come back to this pack house!"

I looked at the family portrait.

It had been taken on Ivy's fifteenth birthday. I'd been away at an academic competition and arrived late.

The photographer offered to retake it.

Dad refused.

"The twins look alike. We've already got Ivy."

The finished display included two pictures of Ivy.

None of me.

"Fine," I said.

Upstairs, I packed my passport, identification, and competition certificates.

Adrian pushed open my door without knocking.

"You're really reporting Ethan?"

I said nothing.

He noticed the Frostland Academy documents on my desk.

"You're applying outside Blood Moon territory? Since when?"

I snatched them back.

"None of your business."

"Didn't we agree to attend Moonvale together? And what about making our relationship public at your coming-of-age ceremony?"

When we were sixteen, Adrian had promised that on my eighteenth birthday, he'd finally tell the pack we were together.

Now that day had come, and he'd spent it buying my sister the watch I'd wanted.

"Who's going to look after you if you're all alone in the North?" he demanded.

"Forget about Frostland, Abby. You're coming to Moonvale with us, just like we agreed. Don't make this into a bigger deal than it needs to be."

In my last life, I'd mistaken those words for love.

Now I knew he only feared losing someone who always came running when he called.

"Adrian, what do I want to study?"

"Finance?"

"Am I allergic to peanuts or mangoes?"

Silence.

"How many academic competitions have I won?"

He frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm your boyfriend. We're supposed to become mates. Isn't that enough?"

I laughed.

I'd once believed he loved me because he'd confessed, kissed me against a wall, and shared his deepest secret.

He was the illegitimate son of the Hayes Alpha bloodline, overlooked in favor of his legitimate older brother.

I'd thought that confidence meant I was special.

Before my death, I learned the truth.

Adrian had confessed to Ivy first.

She rejected him and demanded distance.

So he chose me instead.

Dating Ivy's twin gave him the perfect excuse to remain close to her. As her future brother-in-law, he could protect her without anyone questioning why.

"You never loved me."

Adrian stared at me.

For once, he didn't deny it.

A scream came from the hallway.

"Ethan! What's wrong?"

We rushed outside.

Ethan lay on the floor, clutching his stomach.

Everyone panicked.

Mom grabbed my arm.

"Abby, you're type O, aren't you?"